PLEASANTVILLE, NY – The Pace University men's basketball team lost to Bentley College, 80-60, in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up played at the Goldstein Fitness Center on the Pleasantville campus of Pace University.  Pace drops to 11-12 overall and 8-10 in the NE-10 while Bentley improves to 16-6 overall and 13-4 in conference play.

The win gives Bentley it's second consecutive season with a double-digit win streak, the first time the Falcons have done that since 1973.  Bentley senior Sean Cooke (East Windsor, NJ/ Notre Dame) dropped in 20 points while also picking up five assists.  Cooke was 6-of-13 from the floor, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range.  Cooke's five 3-pointers give him 258 for his career, passing Kevin Van Dam's (1998-02) 256, for the career lead at Bentley.

Pace opened the first half trading hoops with Bentley until they pushed their lead to 21-15 with 13:05 on the clock.  Bentley got hot from the outside and outscored Pace 27-to-7 over the remainder of the half. The Falcons took the lead at the 7:50 mark on a 3-pointer by Tim Forbes (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro). Forbes would knock down three straight with Cooke missing one in as well to give Bentley a nine-point lead, 32-23, at the 3:20 mark.  After a Jeff Holmes (Westbrook,ME) lay-up and a 3-pointer by Forbes, his fifth of the first half, Bentley led by 12 with 1:21 remaining.  Oneil Morgan (Kingston, Jamaica/Excelsior) (Kingston, Jamaica/Principal Excelsior) hit one of two at the free throw line to cut the lead to 11 before Nate Fritsch (Durham, NC/Woodberry Forest) knocked down a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to give the Falcons a 42-28 lead heading into the half.

Pace came as close as seven points, at the 13:43 mark, cutting the lead to 49-42.  Bentley would push the lead back up to 12 after Forbes and Cooke hit from long range and Fritsch mixed in a 2-point field goal. Pace would trade baskets before a pair of lay-ups by Morgan and Randy Wilson (Peekskill, NY/Peekskill) (Peekskill, NY/Peekskill) cut the Bentley lead to eight points at 62-54 with 7:51 on the clock.  Bentley then tore off on a 13-to-4 run over the next five minutes, taking a 75-58 lead with 2:11 remaining.  After a lay-up by Morgan at the 1:59 mark, Pace was held scoreless as Bentley rattled off five more points to close out the win, 80-60. 

For Pace, Gibraltar White (Gautier, MS/Gautier) (Gautier, MS/Gautier) finished with a game-high 17 points, hitting on 7-of-17 form the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.  Neal Wellington (Wheaton, MD/Good Counsel) (Wheaton, MD/Good Counsel) had 13 points and six assists while hitting on 3-of-6 from 3-point range.  Morgan would totaled 11 points and eight rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass. 

For Bentley, Forbes would finish with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists while hitting on 7-of-14 from the floor, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range.  Fritsch turned in a double-double performance with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Holmes also turned in a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, as well as two blocks.

Pace returns to action when they host the College of Saint Rose on Tuesday, February 7^th at the Goldstein Health, Fitness and Recreation Center on the Pleasantville campus of Pace University in a Northeast-10 Conference showdown slated for 7:30 p.m.